The School for Elementals Ch. 1

The way a fight starts is typically a simple misunderstanding. A boy was punched back into the crowd who pushed him back into the circle. This is what happened to Aaron. One of his peers thought it would be funny to scream at the top of his lungs that Aaron wanted to take on Harold, the captain of the football team. Aaron was not big or all that strong, but he was agile. He dodged a punch directed for his face.

“I didn’t want to fight.” Aaron said wiping off some of the blood on his face and kicking Harold in the side.

“Too bad.” He slammed his fist into Aaron’s back and knocked him to the ground. Harold continued his assault kicking Aaron while he laid on the ground.

Aaron did not move trapped in a petrified state. His yellow eyes shut themselves. Everything feels so cold. Am I going to die? The kicking stopped. What’s going on? He stopped kicking. Everyone’s voices feel so much smaller. Aaron opened his eyes slowly. Everyone was staring at him nervously. He forced himself off of the ground slowly. Some snow fell from the short mess of brown hair on his head. He looked over to his attacker who was covered in ice. The students all ran from the scene leaving Aaron and his attacker alone for a few seconds before school security arrived. He was escorted to the principal’s office while someone walked over to Harold holding a chisel.

…

Aaron sat in a chair while someone who was not the principal walked into the room and sat at the desk. His suit was black and crisp giving him a commanding presence. Several men wearing body armor and visors also walked into the room. “He hit me first.” Aaron said crossing his arms.

“No need for defending yourself. Harold and the other students are all being hushed about what they witnessed and about your existence for that matter.” Aaron tensed up a little as the man spoke. “Don’t lose it on me or my friends are going to have to take you out.” He ran his fingers through his peppered gray hair as he relaxed a little in his chair. “You are an elemental. An ice elemental to be more specific.”

“Wait, I froze Harold?”

“Yes, and now I have to clean up that mess.” He tensed up a little before regaining his composure. “Most of the time you freaks show your powers during the summer time before high school. It makes clean up so much easier, but now we have you coming out early.”

“It’s almost summer.” Aaron said looking down.

“No need to freak out.” He said trying to keep Aaron calm. “This stuff happens. Sometimes they come out late. Those ones are always at a disadvantage. Sorry, I’m getting off topic. You are an ice elemental. That means, you are going to be taken away to a secure facility where you will attend school with the other elementals, learn to use your powers, and graduate, and if you survive all of that, things will get a bit more interesting.”

“Wait…wait, what about my family, my friends, what about high school?”

“You’re going to give your parents one last goodbye before we ship you off and they pretend that you no longer exist. Sound good?”

“Not really.” Aaron stood up the air around him growing cold. His body froze up and started jerking around before he fell to the ground.

One of the man’s guards pulled a Taser out of Aaron’s side. “Sorry boss.”

“No no, it was necessary. He was getting ready to lose it. Then this whole room would have been frozen solid. Let’s get him home so that he can say his goodbyes.”

…

Aaron woke up on the couch in his living room. “What happened?” He sat up on the couch rubbing his head.

“Honey, you’re awake!” His mother ran over hugging him. “Everything’s going to be okay. Mr. Gray explained everything.”

“Ready to get going, Aaron?” Mr. Gray walked into the room with his bodyguards standing nearby.

His mother looked at him wrapping her arms around him. “You have to.” She said starting to cry.

“Don’t cry.” Aaron said hugging her tightly.

“Don’t forget me.” His dad walked into the room joining in on the hug.

“Come on, we don’t have all day. And these tender family moments never seem to end.” He was growing impatient as he tapped his watch. Aaron eventually broke the hug before he was lead out the door by the guards. There was a limousine parked out front and two black cars parked nearby. “I’m going to the airport where I have a flight to take me to the facility. You will be riding in the limousine. I don’t need airlines reading your information and tracking you.”

“Shouldn’t there by a prison bus to take me there.”

“While I like your thinking, the fuel economy is poor, and the windows aren’t dark enough for my taste, but we do have handcuffs.” He snapped his fingers prompting one of the guards to cuff Aaron’s hands around his front before he was pushed into the limousine. “I’ll see you at the academy in a few days, maybe longer if I have another early bloomer to deal with.” He closed the door and walked off while two guards got into the car and sat across from Aaron. He took notice of their guns as the limousine began to move.

“Don’t try anything.” One of them told him.

“Or what?” Aaron asked.

“We’re allowed to beat on you as much as we want as long as we don’t kill you.” The other one said smirking. “Sometimes we don’t even need a reason. Keep that in mind.”

The driving continued for a while with Aaron growing uncomfortable in his seat. “Can you tell the driver to turn up the AC? It’s hot in here.”

“It’s on full blast.” One of the guards said. “It’s just you being an ice freak. You’re still not as bad as some of the others.”

“What other elementals are there?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.” He responded.

“Are we stopping to get something to eat at some point?” Aaron asked.

“At some point.” One of them said.

Aaron laid down on the seat and did his best to make himself comfortable as he tried to fall asleep.

…

“Get up.” One of the guards said hitting Aaron on the head.

“Where are we?” Aaron mumbled rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“McDonalds.” One of them said as the door to the limo was opened.

“Why is it so dark out?” Aaron asked looking around outside.

“It’s two in the morning. No one’s around to see us.” He pushed Aaron out of the limo. “Come on, we’re going to go take a piss and get something to eat.” Aaron stumbled into the restaurant and saw no one watching or caring as he walked into the bathroom with the two guards following behind him. One of them stood by the door while the other went to the bathroom. Aaron walked into one of the stalls and relieved himself. He walked over to the sink and saw that the guards had traded places.

The group walked out of the bathroom. Aaron walked up to the counter and looked up at the menu already knowing what he was hungry for. “Um, I’ll have a filet of fish, large fries, and a coke.” The guards followed suit placing their orders. The cashier did not seem to care that Aaron had handcuffs around his wrists. Aaron took his cup and walked over to the drink dispenser with one of the guards following after him.

“It’s funny how calm you are.” One of the guards said filling his cup.

“I don’t feel like being beaten within an inch of my life. Plus I can’t get these cuffs off.” Aaron put a lid on his cup and a straw in it before walking outside towards the limo. The driver opened the door and let him inside. He put his cup in the holder while the guards got in.

“Your food.” One of them said tossing a bag at him. Aaron opened the bag and then the small cardboard box holding his meal. He ate the sandwich quickly before moving on to the French fries in the bag. He finished off the fries before crumpling up the bag and letting it fall to the floor. He picked up his soda which had become a bit warmer sitting in the cup holder. He looked at the guards and then the cup. He calmed himself down and focused on the cup mimicking all of the superhero movies he watched when he was younger. Nothing seemed to happen. He then tried remembering the fight and Mr. Gray.

No need to freak out…

He seemed nervous during that moment. Maybe I control my powers with my emotions.

Aaron looked over at the guards again before returning to his cup. He tensed up a little bit watching the whole cup ice over.

The guards looked over at him holding the frozen cup. “Calm yourself.” One of them said. “Or I’ll be forced to shock you to sleep.”

Aaron tensed up a bit more the seat starting to frost over a little. He let the cup in his hands fall to the floor before raising them to the guards. One of them was blasted by a wave of ice. He moved out of his seat with a Taser in his hand which he jabbed into Aaron’s side. “It’s not that easy to freeze us.” He said watching Aaron pass out on the seat.

…

“Get up.” Someone said opening the door to the limo. Light entered making Aaron stir as he stood up and stepped outside. His eyes adjusted slowly to the change in environment. Guards stood on rooftops holding rifles while others patrolled the area in armored golf carts or simply walked around. People were walking around with books in their arms. Others were sitting around talking. He watched someone talk to a girl. As soon as he turned around, the girl threw a fireball at him sending him running until he jumped into a fountain.

“What is this place?” Aaron asked. The guards remained quiet as he was led to a building with a sign nearby that read Admissions.

They walked into the building passed a desk with a receptionist sitting behind it. The office they stopped at had a nameplate above, Dean of Admissions. Aaron was taken inside and sat down in a chair.

“Get those cuffs off of him.” A man wearing a shirt and tie said reclining in his chair with a file in front of him. The guards were dismissed leaving Aaron alone with the man. “How are you?” He asked opening the file thumbing through its contents.

“Where am I?” Aaron asked tensing up a little.

“Calm down.”’ He said setting the file down. “To the world you’re nowhere. Now, here, you’re at The School for Elementals. As far as this planet is concerned, this place does not exist. Google freaking Earth can’t find this place. The U.S. government doesn’t even know about this place, and yet they hand us billions of dollars every single year.”

“I’m dead to everyone. Mr. Gray made that very clear.”

“Hopefully he wasn’t too much of a dick about it.” The man said chuckling a little. “I’m the dean of admissions, Dr. Shamble, and I’m much better than him. Now, based on your record.” He tapped the file with his fingers. “You still have a little bit of school to finish up. We can take care of that in a few weeks, and you can enjoy your summer here before classes actually start. You will be living in the ice dormitory. One of the best things about this place is the dorms, double beds, single rooms, mini fridge in each room, high-speed internet, your own bathroom. Then there’s your spending allowance, two hundred fifty dollars per week. It is used for food, laundry, and whatever else you want to buy.”

“So I go to my room now?”

“No, your room still needs to be prepped. You need to go to the infirmary for preliminary examination, cleaning, and vaccinations.” Two guards walked into the room and picked Aaron up by his arms. “Have fun.” He waved as Aaron was carried from the room.

…

Hot water washed over Aaron’s body as two nurses scrubbed him from head to toe leaving him with no privacy whatsoever. As soon as they were finished, they walked outside while the water shut off. Hot air began to hit him drying him off before one of the nurses tossed him some clothes. “Get dressed.” One of them said before they both left. Aaron put on the t-shirt and lounge pants and walked out of the shower stall. Someone wearing a lab coat walked into the room holding a clipboard. They also carried a tray of syringes with them.

“We have a lot of vaccinations to cover. Sit down, relax, sleeve up.” They sat down in a moving stool while Aaron sat down in one of the chairs. He rolled up his sleeve while they rubbed his arm with alcohol to sterilize it. Needle after needle was inserted into his arm. Sometimes they would change arms or put something in his nose. By the end of it, both of Aaron’s arms were sore. “Okay, we’re all good here.” They made a few marks on their clipboard while a guard walked into the room. “He can escort you to your room now.”

…

Aaron opened the drawers and then the closet. All of the clothes were in his size. The school uniform became obvious when he was taken back to his dorm. Boys wore khakis, and a white, button down t-shirt along with a colored tie. The ones in his closet were light blue. Girls wore the same uniform, but instead of pants, they wore skirts. He put on the uniform and looked in the mirror as he finished tying his tie. He looked over at his desk and saw the high-end computer set up.

“Don’t get too excited.” A boy said standing by the door. “Social media is disabled, so is commenting and any communications really. Playing an online game can be a pain in the ass to say the least.” Aaron stood up and walked over to him. “My name’s Robby. And I hear that you’re the new guy.”

“Aaron.” He said shaking his hand. “So how do you find someone around here if communications are disabled?”

“Open the top drawer in your desk.” Aaron walked over and pulled out a silver, device the size of a phone. “That’s your phone more or less. It’s called a messenger though. It only works here. It has a map of the campus, stores your ID, tells you where everyone is, and it has an email system. We don’t text here. You want to track someone, they need to give you their friend code. It discourages stalking.”

“They don’t call?” Aaron asked.

“They don’t call.” Robby said as he watched Aaron put it in his pocket. “Keep it on you, and keep it charged. Now, come with me.” He walked out of the room with Aaron reluctantly following him down the hall into a different room. Aaron walked inside to see Robby sitting at what looked like a bar. “Can I get you a drink? Maybe in a frosted glass?” He held a glass in his hand and watched as it frosted over.

“I don’t drink.” Aaron said sitting down on one of the stools.

“That’s what a lot of freshman say.” He smiled pouring a clear liquid into the glass and swallowing it in one gulp.

“Do they even sell alcohol around here?”

“No, who sells booze to minors? The school store doesn’t carry that kind of stuff. We make it.” Robby poured himself another glass and swallowed it even faster before screwing on the cap and putting the bottle away. “If you can’t buy it here, you bribe a guard to get it, or you make it. Garden club isn’t growing wheat, barely, and potatoes to make starchy foods. They grow it so we can make booze. Art club isn’t making hundreds of bottles, barrels, and kegs a month to make a symbolic piece. They’re making it to store the booze.”

“I get it. High schoolers like alcohol.”

“Yes, yes we do, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss. Dr. Shamble has asked that I give you an orientation, and I am more than happy to do so. I’m Robby, I’m a junior, and I’m going to help you understand this place a little better.” He smiled walking out from his bar and taking a seat in his chair. “Take a deep breath and get ready to listen.”

Aaron nodded his head.

“Believe it or not this place is a high school. You will report to your classes at their assigned times. You will do your homework and turn it in on time or you will be beaten. You will maintain a minimal two point two three GPA or you will be beaten.”

“Who beats me?” Aaron asked.

“The guards. Next, try to stay out of the infirmary. It’s germy, the nurses are always taking blood, it’s overcrowded. Point is, only go in there if it’s absolutely necessary. Your dorm is your family, and they will take care of you. I’m the drink master around here and everyone knows it.”

“I kind of got that.” Aaron said pointing to the fully stocked bar next to him.

“Okay, dorm life.” Robby said clapping his hands together. “These dorms are pretty nice. We have a decked out lounge, full out kitchen, and a huge laundry room. Guys are on the first two floors and girls are on the top two. Feel free to mingle with other dorms, but know where you are. Feel free to decorate your room how you like, just be sure to have the budget to cover it. Your allowance is for food, clothes, personal needs and whatever else you want. You need to store up in case some sort of expense occurs. I recommend keeping around at least one thousand. I’ve seen quite a few freshman hungry because they buy stupid videogames and crap the first week.”

“I shouldn’t have to buy that much right now.” Aaron said pulling out his messenger and checking his balance.

“Just keep an eye on it.” Robby responded. “Elements go as follows, ice, that’s us. Poison, don’t date them. They can do more than the stuff that kills you. They love to mess with your head. Mind kids are kind of the same way. They can read you no sweat. They can also warp how you see things. Electricity, they’re not bad people, good with tech, but they can be a little bit all over the place. Fire, we typically don’t get along with them for obvious reasons. They pick on us quite a bit. Some of them are okay though. There’s always an exception point being. Water, some of them have healing powers, they’re typically pretty calm people. Wind, those guys are really smart, and they definitely have some power behind them. Our dorms get along pretty well with each other. Then we have grass elementals. They’re friends with just about everyone. They run the garden club and make it possible for us to get booze. Metal elementals are kind of the same way. They make the bottles. Plus, they make good muscle. Earth elementals also do bottle work, they’re pretty relaxed. They like to fight, and they don’t go down that easily. One of them fighting a fire elemental is very fun to see.”

“So we’re identified by our ties?” Robby nodded his head. “So how do the others see us?”

“We’re loners or pack animals. We’re smart. We’re powerful. With that in mind, you’re going to be manipulated, befriended, and or betrayed. You need to be careful. Dinner?” He asked looking at his messenger.

“Yeah, I could use something to eat.” Aaron said rubbing his head trying to process all of the information given to him.

“Don’t let the stereotypes drive all of your decisions. A lot of us are loners because we’ve been betrayed, but the ones who make packs make close friends. Then there are some of us who just like to be friends with everyone. It just depends.” They walked across campus until they walked into a building and into a larger room that was full of smells. There was a counter up front where Robby scanned his messenger on a machine before he walked into the room. Aaron followed suit as he grabbed a plate off one of the racks. “Get something to eat and we can meet at one of the tables. This place is all you can eat, so go nuts. Prices change based on the hour. It’s dinner, a prime meal, so prices are a little higher, but there’s more variety.” Robby walked off to one of the counters while Aaron scanned the room.

He walked over to a counter lined with sushi. He began piling up his plate before grabbing a pair of chopsticks and a drink. He saw Robby standing near the entrance to the seating area. Aaron walked over to him. “Where are we sitting?”

Robby looked around the room briefly. “There.” He pointed with a drink in his hand. Aaron looked over to see a girl with an orange tie waving at them.

“I thought you said that we don’t get along with fire students.”

“I also said that there’s always an exception to the rule.” Robby smiled a little sitting next to the girl who gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Aaron, this is my girlfriend, Karen. Karen, this is Aaron. He’s new.”

“Let me guess. Robby told you that fire and ice don’t get along that well?” She looked at Aaron who nodded his head. “He’s not wrong. We pull pranks and are always rivals with each other, but it’s fun.”

“So how did you…”

Karen cut him off. “We had a few classes together, and we decided to work together on a few projects together. We found out we have a lot in common, and we kind of started dating.”

“Do you have any advice for Aaron?” Robby asked starting to cut the steak on his plate.

“Just try to stay sane here. Once you get here, life isn’t the same. Graduation isn’t much different. After you leave here, you become a government assassin or a diplomatic toy where you’re forced to fight in an arena against other elementals for the amusement of others. Personally, I’m hoping to get a sleeper job in Italy when I graduate.”

“She’s been taking Italian since freshman year.” Robby said.

“And Robby’s been taking Italian too.” Karen chimed in.

Aaron picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of sushi. He finished his food quickly. “I’ll meet you back in the dorm later.” He walked off leaving them alone.

…

Aaron walked back to the dorm and laid down on his bed. His messenger beeped. He looked to see an email from Dr. Shamble.

Classes are at 8 AM. You will report to the examination hall, Room 103, where you will be receiving private instruction until the end of the term.

Aaron sighed standing up and walking over to his closet. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt as well as the bar of soap and tiny vial of shampoo and a towel as he walked into the bathroom in his room closing the door and locking it. After a brief shower, he dried himself off, he got dressed, and he brushed his teeth. He walked out of the bathroom and sat at his computer downloading a few things and setting up new accounts with his student email. Four hours had passed before everything was finished downloading. “There’s more than I remember.” He sighed looking at his messenger. He set an alarm before getting into bed and switching out the lights.